High School Football Coach Raises Money for Team With ‘Will Work For Helmets’ Sign

Football is a rough game, and the last thing you want to do is play it with a faulty helmet.

That was the dilemma facing North Marion High School football coach Doug Bilodeau of Aurora, Oregon. Thanks to district budget cuts, his squad doesn’t have nearly enough safe helmets to play the 2013 season.

So, while talking to his family, Bilodeau joked that he might as well stand on the side of the road with a “Will work for helmets sign.” Bilodeau’s daughter then upped the ante on the wisecrack by making the sign. At which point Bilodeau figured, “why not?”

Since it’s 2013, it wasn’t the fact that a steady parade of motorists were able to see the sign that ended up making it a fundraising hit. Instead, the donations starting rolling in when a photo of Bilodeau, the sign and his dog Sally was posted on Facebook.

Thanks to the photo going viral in the Aurora community, he has quickly raised enough money for five helmets, with a goal of 30 by August. While the sign clearly states a willingness to work for the funds, so far the only request for actual labor came from a local apartment complex who needed some leaves raked.

But Bilodeau is fine with any potential contributors taking his sign literally. “If someone has a project, we’ll get a group of kids to go do it,” Bilodeau said. “‘Work for helmets’ isn’t just a slogan. We put it into practice.”

And if that doesn’t work? “I’ve got to find a way,” Bilodeau explained. “Collect cans if I have to. I don’t want a kid not playing football because we don’t have the helmets.”

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